Elastic snood

ABSTRACT

The disclosed articles to be worn encircling part of the person comprise an endless band of highly elastic material, e.g., molded styrene-butadiene block copolymer, having bodies and connecting necks extending integrally between the bodies. The band is easily stretched considerably to put it on, and the bodies are easily grasped when putting the ring on and taking it off. The necks can be stretched five times their normal length without suffering permanent elongation, and because of this feature the necks which in aggregate are short provide an ample amount of stretch. One novel article is a snood including a ring of homogeneous necks and balls and a pouch formed of a pattern of strands (which may also be necks and balls) extending integrally from the ring, the pattern and proportions of the pouch making it more readily stretched than the ring, to confine a bun of hair without excessively compacting the bun.

[ 11 July 17, 1973 1 ELASTIC SNOOD [76] Inventor: Abraham Goodman, 112 Avon Dr.,

Essex Fells, NJ. 07021 [22]v Filed: Jan. 21, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 108,288

[52] U.S. C1. 132/46 R, 63/2 [51] Int. CL... A4511 8/00 [58] Field of Search 2/195, 197, 200,

2/198, 174; 132/46 R, 49, 47; 18/44; 63/D1G. 3, 2, 3, 4, DIG. 2

1,183,421 1/1959 France 63/3 Primary Examiner-George H. Krizmanich Attorney-Paul S. Martin [57] ABSTRACT The disclosed articles to be worn encircling part of the person comprise an endless band of highly elastic material, e.g., molded styrene-butadiezne block copolymer, having bodies and connecting necks extending integrally between the bodies. The band is easily stretched considerably to put it on, and the bodies are easily grasped when putting the ring on and taking it off. The necks can be stretched five times their normal length without suffering permanent elongation, and because of this feature the necks which in aggregate are short provide an ample amount of stretch. One novel article is a snood including a ring of homogeneous necks and balls and a pouch formed of a pattern of strands (which may also be necks and balls) extending integrally from the ring, the pattern and proportions of the pouch making it more readily stretched than the ring, to confine a bun of hair without excessively compacting the bun.

2 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures ELASTIC SNOOD The present invention relates to articles primarily intended to be worn on the person, examples of such articles notably including a pony-tail ring, a snood for containing a ladys bun, and a watch band.

A simple rubber band, when used as a pony-tail holder, is tensioned about a pony tail. Such a pony-tail holder is not easily grasped when it is to be removed. Fabric-sheathed rubber cord has been used; and more decorative pony-tail rings involve multiple fabricsheathed elastic cords criss-crossed through many drilled balls.

In one of its aspects, an object of the present inven tion resides in providing new and improved pony-tail rings of unitary resilient elastic material.

In the illustrative embodiments of the invention applied to pony-tail holders as described in detail below, many bodies of elastic material are interconnected by short necks of the same material extending integrally from the surfaces of such bodies. While the bodies are intrinsically elastic, they behave as solid parts when the applied tension is only that needed for stretching the necks in putting on and removing the pony-tail holder. The connecting necks are so short and the bodies are so close to each other that at least one and usually two or more bodies are grasped when the illustrative ponytail holder is being handled. Surprisingly, the short elastic necks provide adequate stretch even though the elastic necks extend only from the surface of one body to the next. This contrasts with well-known pony-tail holders having elastic cord threaded through drilled balls, where the whole length of the elastic cord contributes to the elongation, not only the short lengths between the drilled balls but also the large proportion of the cord inside the drilled balls.

As applied to a watch band, many bodies of elastic material are interconnected by short integral necks of the same material in the illustrative embodiment described in detail below. Here, too, the bodies behave much like rigid parts when only that limited amount of tension is applied which is needed for stretching the necks. The bodies can be simple geometric shapes or they can be elaborately figured, to provide style and to make them attractive.

A one-piece snood represents an additional particularly distinctive application of the invention, and illustrates still further features. The usual snood involves an elastic loop and what may be called a pouch extending from the loop. The loop is expected to provide constriction, for holding the snood in place. The pouch is a container for the wearer's bun. It is expected to act only as a container, squeezing the bun only slightly if at all. In an illustrative embodiment of the invention detailed below, a snood is molded of one piece of elastic material. An elastic loop around the mouth of the snood is formed of many bodies of elastic material interconnected by. short necks of the same material extending from the surface of one body to the next. Integral strands of the same material extend from the loop in the form of a pouch. The pattern and cross-section of the strands preferably is such that the pouch is more easily enlarged than is the elastic loop.

The nature of the invention in its various aspects, including the foregoing and further novel features and advantages, will be more fully appreciated from the following detailed description of several illustrative embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGS. l-S represent portions of novel closed-loop rings embodying features of the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates the use of a pony-tail ring made with the material of FIGS. l-S;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary front view of a novel expansion watch band as a further embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary side view of the watch band of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a further illustrative embodiment of the invention, being a novel snood shown in use; and

FIG. 10 is a modification of the snood in FIG. 9, drawn to larger scale.

Referring now to the drawings, a closed loop or ring is formed of a series of bodies 10 (FIG. 1), these being solid spherical balls in this example, connected by short necks 12. In an illustrative ring of this form used as a pony-tail holder, the balls are three-tenths inch in diameter, the diameter of the necks: is about 0.070 inch, and the necks are about 0.070 inch long. The necks and the balls are integral and of the same elastic material. The balls behave as firm solids. When the pony-tail holder is tensioned for putting it on or taking it off, the necks stretch readily, while the balls retain their shape due to their relatively huge cross-section compared to the necks. The significant elongation of the ring is provided by the necks. While the bodies do not themselves become elongated, some small portion of each body can stretch, where the neck meets the body.

FIG. 6 shows a pony-tail ring 14 holding a girls pony tail. The single strand of balls 10 of FIG. 1 in one example is formed as a ring that is only long enough to loop once around the pony tail, while in another example it is a longer ring and is coiled into two or more turns around the hair when it is put on.

The halls are large enough to be grasped easily by a girls fingers when she wants to take off the pony-tail ring. She does not need to grasp anything as thin as necks 12. To grasp so thin an elastic strand would be quite difficult if it were under tension and pressed against a tuft of hair.

FIG. 2 shows a modification of the pony-tail ring of FIG. I, differing in that the balls 10a in FIG. 2 are of graduated sizes for producing an ornamental effect, from small to large and then decreasing to small, connected by necks 120. In all other respects the ring of FIG. 2 is the same as that of FIG. 1.

. FIG. 3 involves balls 10b and necks 12b interconnecting the balls so as to form a center ring and two outside rings. In this example, the balls of the center ring are connected by necks 16b to alternate balls of the outer rings. The balls are of uniform size, as are the necks 12b and 16b. Additional necks 16b or fewer necks may be used, since these necks 16b serve only to hold the three rings of balls together. A pony-tail ring formed of multiple interconnected rings of balls as in FIG. 3 ordinarily has a small circumference, for use as a single loop around the pony tail.

FIG. 4 shows how multiple balls 10c and arranged in three rows can be cross-connected by diagonal necks 12c. When tension is developed, some elongation results from a shift of balls 10c of the outer two series toward the center balls 10c, requiring very little tension. In this example, balls 10c are larger than balls 100. Only two series of necks resist elongation, being easier to elongate (for necks of a given thickness) than the form in FIG. 3 where there are three series of circumferential necks 12b.

A modification of the construction in FIG. 4 is shown in FIG. 5, where balls d are connected to patches 10d. The thickness of these patches may be the same as the diameter of the necks, and the patches are of the same material as that of the necks 12d and balls 10d, all the parts being integral, homogeneous, and unitary and having a continuous smooth surface. When the band is stretched, almost all of the elongation occurs in the necks.

The best way to make each of the pony-tail rings of FIGS. I5 is by injection-molding them, as closed loops. They can be made of natural or synthetic rubber, or of other elastic materials such as an elastic formulation of a styrene-butadiene block copolymer, a thermoplastic sold by Shell Chemical Co. under the trademark of Kraton. The molding material should contain the desired coloring, so that the balls (or other bodies) match identically the color of the other balls and the necks. In this and other respects, the part taken from the mold ordinarily is the finished product.

The rings are truly elastic in the sense that the necks return to their original length after being stretched. It is desirable for the chosen elastic material to provide for a 5-to-1 elongation before breaking. At least a 2-tol elongation before breaking is important. Typically, pony-tail rings as described above in connection with FIG. 1 have a 2-to-1 elongation when a pull of about one pound is exerted by two fingers in the loop pulling in opposite directions.

In the past, attractive pony-tail rings have been made by lacing rubber-cored fabric-covered cord through apertured, hollow, colored balls in attractive arrangements comparable to that in FIG. 4, then making the necessary joints between ends of the elastic cord to close the loop in completing the pony-tail ring. In such pony-tail holders, the full length of the cord is available to contribute to the elongation when tension is applied. Quite surprisingly, even though the elongation of the described pony-tail rings is confined essentially to the short connecting necks, ample elongation can easily be realized. The balls are close to each other and provide body" that makes each ring easy for the users fingers to grasp, both in putting the ring on the hair, and taking it off. The relative distribution of the balls around the ring is inherently fixed. This contrasts with a simple elastic cord strung with bored balls to resemble the pony-tail ring of FIG. 1, wherein the balls ordinarily can slide along the cord.

In each of FIGS. 1-5, the bodies as shown are balls, and as such they are both serviceable and attractive. It is evident, however, that these bodies can be made in any other form that may be desired, including other geometric shapes as well as more ornate shapes. The bodies may be shaped alike, or bodies of various shapes may be used together. The freedom of choice in this respect is unlimited.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate another embodiment of the invention, an expansion watch band. Bodies 102 are molded integrally with two or more series of connecting necks 122. The bodies l0e are shown as simple rectangular bars, but obviously they may be made in any desired ornamental shapes and in various arrangements, such as in FIGS. 4 and 5. Necks 12c are preferably proportioned for gentler tension than that characteristic of pony-tail rings, a few ounces of tension ordinarily providing for 2-to-l elongation in expansion watch bands.

A metal fitting 18 is shown gripping a body 10c at one end of the band shown, for securing the band to a watch. A similar fitting (not shown) is provided at the opposite end of the band. This band, when molded of elastic materials as described above, has generally the same advantages and properties discussed in connection with FIGS. 1-5.

As a further application, the material of FIGS. l-5 formed into endless loops or rings, and that of FIGS. 7 and 8, can be proportioned for use as a head band.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show two novel snoods, incorporating rings 14f and 14g of integral balls and connecting necks like the pony-tail ring of FIG. 1. Snood 20 of FIG. 9 incorporates ring 14f as a part that is integral with pouch 22. Strands of the same material as ring 14f form the pouch, extending integrally from the ring. The pattern of the strands is such that they contain a ladys bun without squeezing the bun.

FIG. 10 shows a snood drawn to larger scale than FIG. 9. In FIG. 10, ring 14g is made up of a series of balls 10g and interconnecting necks 12g, proportioned just as described above in connection with FIG. 1. Such a ring or band has ample body so as to be easily grasped when putting the snood on and taking it off, and it has the proper tension to hold the snood in place. Every ball 10g, or other ball, has a strand 24 that extends to a central ring 26 remote from ring 14g. The pattern of strands 24, and the cross-linking strands of the pouch extending from one strand 24 to the next, can be made up of balls and necks, or of uniform strands in any network that may be desired, for containing the hair of a bun. The cross-linking strands near ring 14g and the cross-linking strands progressively farther from ring 14g (to a limit) are successively larger circles. This factor and the controlled thicknesses and lengths of the connecting necks in the cross-linking strands, contribute to the action of the snood as a container of the wearers bun, without appreciably compressing the bun.

The snoods of FIGS. 9 and 10 are molded of any of the materials mentioned above for the rings of FIGS. l-5. The mold-maker will know how to make a multiple-section outer mold cavity, to close against a core or central mold part that is shaped like the inside of the snood. After the molding operation is complete, the elastic snood can readily be stretched and thus removed from the core. The strands forming each pouch are elastic but allow the pouch to expand readily to accommodate buns of various sizes, and yet the rings 14f and 14g provide firm tension to hold the respective snoods in place. The snoods can be brightly colored or they can be made in tones to blend with various shade of hair, depending on the coloring of the molding composition.

The illustrative embodiments of various aspects of the invention are adaptable to other uses, and can readily be modified by those skilled in the art, and consequently the invention should be broadly construed, consistent with its spirit and scope.

What is claimed is:

1. A snood, including an endless band having numerous bodies large enough to be grasped by a persons fingers in putting the snood on and in taking it off, said endless band having numerous interconnecting necks extending integrally from the surfaces of said bodies as continuous portions of the same material as that of said bodies, said bodies being enormous in cross-section compared to the necks and said bodies being relatively in extensible in response to the maximum tension that the necks are capable of resisting, a small portion of each body where a said neck meets a said body stretching in response to such tension, said material having an elasticity enabling at least two-to-one elongation of the necks without appreciable set, said snood further including a pouch comprising a pattern of strands extending integrally from said endless band, said strands being interconnected as a lattice including cross-connected strands for containing the hair of a bun, the pattern of the pouch and the cross-section of the strands thereof 7 ing said bodies. 

1. A snood, including an endless band having numerous bodies large enough to be grasped by a person''s fingers in putting the snood on and in taking it off, said endless band having numerous interconnecting necks extending integrally from the surfaces of said bodies as continuous portions of the same material as that of said bodies, said bodies being enormous in cross-section compared to the necks and said bodies being relatively in extensible in response to the maximum tension that the necks are capable of resisting, a small portion of each Body where a said neck meets a said body stretching in response to such tension, said material having an elasticity enabling at least two-to-one elongation of the necks without appreciable set, said snood further including a pouch comprising a pattern of strands extending integrally from said endless band, said strands being interconnected as a lattice including cross-connected strands for containing the hair of a bun, the pattern of the pouch and the cross-section of the strands thereof being proportioned to be much more easily enlarged than said band.
 2. A snood in accordance with claim 1, wherein the strands of said pouch include bodies of said material and necks integrally extending from and interconnecting said bodies. 